Idolatry in a Postmodern Age

I found this article by Tim Keller very helpful and was able to use the concepts here as a meditation to prepare my people for a sermon from Jeremiah in which the people of Israel are condemned for, among other things, idolatry. We spent a moment considering the first commandment and I quoted some of the comments from Martin Luther in order to help everyone recognize that we all are guilty of idolatry and, thus, this passage speaks to each of us. http://www.monergism.com/postmodernidols.html

D.A. Carson's ironic advice to the SBC

I was listening to an interview with D.A. Carson, N.T. professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (if you haven't read his book "The Cross and Christian Ministry," go get it now and devour it, it will benefit you immensely), this weekend and he was asked if he had any advice for the S.B.C.

This is his response:

"Learn again to go back to the Bible to expound the Bible as the whole counsel of God, check things according to the Bible again and again and again. I know there are some really excellent Bible teachers among SBC pastors…but I do get the impression that there is still a shockingly high number of people who still do not handle the Bible well…there is an awful lot of preaching that is cliche driven, cutesy, eviscerated of the Bible that is profoundly discouraging….there are rising movements for which we should thank God but there are other movements which are drawing significant numbers but which are of a more sociologically driven agenda."

I say that this advice is ironic simply because Southern Baptists claim to be "people of the Book." Spending a number of years in S.B.C. ministry, however, I see Carson's counsel greatly needed. Even in seminary I can't count the number of times my fellow students groaned over the awful exegesis that was being propounded by guest preachers in our weekly chapels. Do we really believe that the message behind David in Goliath is that God gives us the ability to slay the "giants in our lives" by using the three stones of ......(Fill in the blank with whatever three tools you find helpful- prayer, Scripture reading, and meditation for example). Ugh.

Unfortunately, church planters seem to be among the worst offenders in this arena. By nature, we are entrepreneural and it seems to me that we are often so focused on building a congregation that we are apt to play loosey goosey with the text to justify any means we can concieve of to meet that end. If you would ask me, I would have to say that planters are often times more pragmatists than they are biblicists.

Lets be honest. When is the last time you heard a planter grapple with the Jurassic Park question (paraphrased): "Instead of asking 'can we do it,' the right question is 'should we do it.'" My answer is "almost never." It is often assumed that the ends justify the means. But on what do we base that assumption?

And if you challenge anyone on something they are doing they pull, what I'll call, the "1 Corinthians 9 card" : "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible...I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:19,23).

Apparently, according to the Church Planter's Exegetical Guide, this verse frees church planters up to do virtually anything to grow their churches. A plant in my town offered people $10 to visit their church. I've heard of others raffling away free cars and even promising free beer to visitors (which turned out to be rootbeer).

But is that what Paul had in mind?

What do you think?
What is Paul saying here? How far is too far- or is there such a thing?

-Doug